Trusting You
by Shimegami-chan
Summary: Duo loses his memory in an accident and is forced to re-learn everything and everyone he ever knew. Will his relationship with Heero ever be the same? 1x2
1. Trusting You Part 1

This is my first GW fic ever. o.O Please don't hurt me...  
  
Gundam Wing and it's characters are copyright Sotsu, Sunrise, and some other people, don't own them and have never claimed to. Please don't sue me, you won't get much....   
  
  
"Trusting You,"  
Part 1  
by Shi-chan  
http://nothingisforever.cjb.net  
  
Duo slammed his control stick hard and to the left in an attempt to avoid a blast from one of the close mobile suits.  
  
"Where th' hell are they all _coming_ from?!" he yelled in frustration, dodging another attack from the side.  
  
Quatre's face appeared on the moniter above Duo's head. "More reinforcements coming from the east..." the blonde pilot informed him solemnly.  
  
Duo brought his Gundam furthur back into the trees in hopes of avoiding a virtual wall of enemy Tauruses advancing on him. "Kusoooo...."  
  
Quatre's gloomy visage was replaced by the grimmer face of Heero Yuy. "We're getting out of here. Mission failed."  
  
Duo's head jerked up to meet the deep colbalt eyes of the boy he admired and loved. "You can't be serious."  
  
Heero looked intent on the battle before him. "The base is gone. Mission failed...we retreat."  
  
"Injustice!" Duo spotted Wufei locked in mortal combat with another mobile suit, way in the distance, and he found it difficult for the moment to keep his mind on his own peril. Mechanically he swung his Gundam's left fist into the torso of another enemy. "Wu-man!"  
  
"Shut up, Maxwell!"  
  
Duo grinned to himself and started to bash a path through the army of Tauruses and mobile dolls before him. He saw Wing smash one last enemy before shooting high into the sky and hovering for a moment before assisting Trowa with escaping from the stack of enemies before him.  
  
The Gundams Shenlong and Heavyarms disengaged themselves from the battle and powered up to escape, getting several hundred meters away from the battle before stopping to wait for Heero, Duo, and Quatre to join them. Eventually Wing and Sandrock lifted into the air to join them, leaving Duo in his Deathscythe still on the ground, pounding enemy after enemy in an effort to get away.  
  
Once Heero and Quatre reached their comrades, however, Quatre's worried face again appeared on Duo's moniter. "Duo? Do you need help down there?"  
  
"Naw, I'm fine," Duo grunted, cleaving another mobile suit in half with his scythe blade.   
  
"If you're sure..." Sandrock started to edge back to the battlefield.  
  
Heero appeared above Duo again. "Get out of there. Now."  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Duo complained. "You know there are an awful lot of suits RIGHT ON TOP OF ME so just a second, I'll be right there, yes!"  
  
Heero's face was a cross between worry and anger. "Duo. Get the hell out of there! I'm coming to help."  
  
The scythe cut down three more enemies, but they were still coming strong. All the remaining mobile suits were focused on this one goal of defeating the lone Gundam pilot, damaged and weary. Sandrock and Wing were coming back for him now, but they were kind of hard to see in the dark. Duo wondered idly when it had gotten so dark, and lifted Deathscythe's huge hand to swipe the offending enemies away.  
  
Duo was violently jarred from behind by an unseen suit and his head crashed into the side of his cockpit. Blackness crept into the edges of his vision.  
  
"DUO!" Duo lifted his blood-streaked head despite the incredible pain that wracked through him. A panicked Heero was back on the moniter, almost wresting out of his restraints and bearing down on the flood of mobile suits surrounding Duo. Quatre was close behind, calling his name over the comm unit.  
  
"Oi, Heero, I didn't know you cared..." the American pilot grinned weakly. He couldn't see his friend's Gundam but felt the vibrations in the ground and wondered if Heero was decimating them. Heero got more effective when he was angry.  
  
"Duo, what the hell are you talking about?!?!? Of course I....I..."  
  
Duo looked into Heero's conflicting eyes. "You..." he gasped as another bone-shattering blow came from behind him despite Heero's efforts. The blackness hovering on the edges of his vision wavered and engulfed him, and Duo Maxwell knew no more.  



	2. Trusting You Part 2

Gundam Wing and it's characters are copyright Sotsu, Sunrise, and some other people, don't own them and have never claimed to. Please don't sue me, you won't get much....   
  
  
"Trusting You,"  
Part 2  
by Shi-chan  
http://nothingisforever.cjb.net  
  
Heero saw Duo's chestnut head fall and his limbs go limp, and the Wing pilot frantically called his friend's name.  
  
"Duo! Wake up! Chotto matte!"  
  
-------------------  
  
Quatre in Sandrock slammed into the last offending suit--the one that had delivered Duo's final blow--just as Trowa and Wufei showed up to rejoin the battle.   
  
He saw Wing's cockpit open and Heero dropped into the foliage below.   
  
-------------------  
  
  
Heero ran through the trees swearing repeatedly and trying to find the smoking Deathscythe.  
  
//Dammit, Duo,// he thought. Aloud he said, "You baka, if you're dead I'll....I'll..."  
  
/You'll what?/ his consciousness asked him silently. /He's not part of your mission. This is war. Casualties happen./  
  
Heero ignored the conflicting views in his head and ran forward to the ruined Gundam. He scaled it quickly and clamoured inside.  
  
Duo hadn't moved since Heero had exited Wing. His luxurious chestnut braid was streaked with blood and he lay facedown on the viewport of the cockpit, his left arm caught beneath a twisted bit of metal from the bashed in side of Deathscythe, his chest still.  
  
//I can't be too late.// "DUO!" Heero yelled, unfastening the American's crash restraints. Taking care not to injure the braided pilot furthur, Heero turned Duo onto his back and checked for a pulse.  
  
//Gone.//  
  
Nothing.  
  
The perfect soldier pumped Duo's still chest with his hands and administered artificial respiration. //PLease wake up. Duo. I need you!//  
  
Duo still did not resume breathing.  
  
Heero tried again, even more panicked. "Duo!" //I've lost him. I've lost him without even telling him how I feel.//  
  
/Telling him what? He'd hate you./  
  
//Duo's not like that.//  
  
/Duo's not like you either. He considers himself your friend, and that's all. And with the way you treat him, I'm surprised he does./  
  
"Shut up. Just SHUT UP!" Heero screamed, once more breathing life into Duo. This time the American boy began to choke under Heero's hands, and started breathing shallowly.  
  
Heero touched Duo's shoulder with shaking fingers, not believing what had just happened. He cradled his friend in his arms, massaging Duo's cold hands, whispering his name over and over.  
  
That was how Quatre found him when the Arab finally scrambled into Deathscythe's cramped cockpit, close to tears of relief--but still behind the perfect mask he had created for himself ever since he first laid eyes in this boy who had captured his heart.  



	3. Trusting You Part 3

Gundam Wing and it's characters are copyright Sotsu, Sunrise, and some other people, don't own them and have never claimed to. Please don't sue me, you won't get much....   
  
  
"Trusting You,"  
Part 3  
by Shi-chan  
http://nothingisforever.cjb.net  
  
Heero sat, eyes blank, in the waiting room of the hospital where they had taken Duo. Even though Duo hadn't stopped breathing again and had made it safely to the hospital where Quatre's sister Iria worked, Heero was still concerned for Duo.  
  
/He's alive. He's in medical care. You've strayed from your mission, but you've saved him. Stop worrying./  
  
//He could be in a coma,// Heero argued with himself. //He might not wake up. I should be in there with him.//  
  
/Why is that?/ the little voice in his head taunted. /Quatre's in there with him. He knows the doctor, we're lucky we haven't been caught. You're leaving yourself open to attack./  
  
Heero feared that his conscience was right, so he waited patiently for Quatre and Iria to return. Wufei and Trowa, sitting on either side of him, looked slightly gloomy but hopeful.  
  
Suddenly Wufei spoke up. "Do you care at all, Yuy?"  
  
Heero started. "I...I saved him, didn't I?" He wondered if he should show some concern for his injured friend. But no, if he let one emotion out his mask of stone might slip.  
  
Wufei crossed his arms and didn't say anything else, and Trowa worriedly watched the door for Quatre's return.  
  
A few seconds later a gloomy Quatre trailed out behind his older sister, who gestured for Heero, Trowa, and Wufei to come with her. The three pilots followed the two Winners wordlessly.  
  
  
  
Inside an isolated hospital room Duo lay pale against white sheets, staring at the ceiling. Once they saw their friend alive and awake the pilots relaxed, but the solemn Quatre hung back at Iria's side when the others went to greet Duo.  
  
"Maxwell! Good to see you're not dead." Wufei cracked a smile, but Duo seemed to stare blankly through him. His customary psychotically cheerful grin was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"Duo. It's good to see you're okay, we were worried." Trowa offered Duo a slight pat on the shoulder before stepping back. Wufei still looked slightly perturbed that Duo hadn't responded to his remark.  
  
//Maybe he's drugged. At least he's alive.// Heero finally stood beside the bed with his arms crossed. "I'm glad you made it. I..." /Shut up, Yuy./ "I...wasn't sure you'd pull through."  
  
Duo nodded weakly and offered a ghost of a smile. "Quatre..."  
  
The blond Arab stepped forward. "Yes?"  
  
The American shook his head gravely and looked the other pilot in his turquoise eyes. "Did you tell them?"  
  
Quatre let out a sigh. "I wanted to see if you'd....if you'd...."  
  
Heero looked worriedly from Quatre to Duo. "What's going on here?"  
  
Iria went to stand beside Duo and began to take his temperature. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but I'm afraid Mr. Maxwell is suffering from amnesia. He's having an amount of difficulty trying to remember more than his basic instincts."  
  
Quatre, his lower lip trembling, went to Trowa and stood near the foot of Duo's bed.  
  
Iria continued, "since you run quite a risk of being discovered and will be short a pilot, I would advise that you get him and yourselves into hiding until he regains his memory--which there is a good chance he will--or until he is capable of taking care of himself again."  
  
Quatre added, "We can go back to my colony and pose as civilians, but this is OZ-controlled space. We'd best leave here quickly."  
  
Wufei took charge, as Heero was staring blankly at the wall. "Quatre, you and the doctor get Maxwell ready to go. Medicine, dressings, whatever else he'll need in confinement. Barton, check on Maxwell's Gundam and remove any personal possessions, then destroy it. Yuy, you and I will finish any other details and set up a way out of here."  
  
Heero could only stare, blank-eyed, ahead. Duo hadn't spoken a word since Iria's verdict. //Amnesia. He doesn't remember anything. He doesn't remember _me._//  
  
"Yuy! Come on!" Wufei roared.  
  
The perfect soldier snapped back to reality and growled at his comrade. "I'll take care of Duo's Gundam."  
  
"Why?" Wufei asked suspiciously.  
  
"Because I need to." Heero walked calmly out the door, leaving Trowa and Quatre staring after him. Wufei turned beet-red. "YUY!"  
  
"No matter. We'd better concentrate on getting you and your friends out of here, little brother." Iria threw Duo's bloodsoaked clothing and fresh dressings into a duffel bag. Duo, with Quatre's assistance, climbed shakily out of the hospital bed and dressed in some fresh garments that Iria had found for him.   
  
Trowa was at the computer already. "There's a shuttle we can steal, right in the port by the hospital. It should fit at least three Gundams, and the other will play decoy until the shuttle is away. Since Heero's Gundam is more flight-capable than Heavyarms or Sandrock, he is the logical choice, unless Wufei would like to volunteer."  
  
Wufei thought this over for a few seconds before peering at the data over Trowa's shoulder. "Wing is more capable for midair agility than Shenlong. If Yuy wanted a say in this discussion he should not have left, he shows weakness by acting as he does."  
  
Quatre shook his head sadly. "Give him a break, Wufei. I think what's happened to Duo has been a big shock to him."  
  
Wufei grunted in reluctant agreement. "Injustice."  
  
The pale Duo has also gone over to Trowa's computer screen and was trying to make sense of what he saw. Trowa turned to face the grim pseudo-Duo, nothing at all like the cheerful pilot he considered a friend. Until they had the old Duo back, they would have to make this new personality feel accepted.  
  
Trowa offered a hand to Duo. "I'm Trowa Barton. I pilot a Gundam called Heavyarms, and I work in a circus."  
  
Duo nodded slowly. "Circus?"  
  
"For entertainment purposes. In the circus we do tricks that some normal humans aren't capable of."  
  
Duo didn't look like he really understood, but he accepted Trowa's explaination.  
  
Following suit, Wufei gave a Duo a stiff bow. "Chang Wufei, pilot of the Gundam Shenlong. I presume you know what a Gundam is."  
  
Duo brushed his long bangs back from his pale face. "Quatre asked me about my Gundam and I was told more about my occupation."  
  
Wufei frowned. //Occupation? This does not sound like Maxwell at all. Perhaps his personality was also lost with the accident.// As much as Maxwell annoyed him sometimes, Wufei had no desire to see something like this happen to him. He silently hoped that the amnesia would be temporary.  
  
Duo apparantly didn't realize he had said anything wrong, and turned to Iria. "Thank you for your assistance, Doctor."  
  
"Any time. I wish you the best of luck...come visit me again, Quatre, and I'd like to know how Mr. Maxwell's memory is coming along from time to time. Okay?"  
  
"Okay, Iria." Quatre gave his sister a hug and led Duo out of the room, with Wufei and Trowa following behind. Silently Quatre wondered how Heero was doing...his eyes had been blank since Quatre had found the two of them inside the twisted Deathscythe. He wondered what had happened to Heero, but suspected much already.  
  
Quatre slung the bag over his shoulder with one last glance back, and walked out of the hospital.  
  



	4. Trusting You Part 4

Gundam Wing and it's characters are copyright Sotsu, Sunrise, and some other people, don't own them and have never claimed to. Please don't sue me, you won't get much....   
  
  
"Trusting You,"  
Part 4  
by Shi-chan  
http://nothingisforever.cjb.net  
  
Heero debated whether or not the decision he was about to make was correct or not. If Duo was ever to regain his memory he needed familiar objects, and if Deathscythe wasn't so importnat to Duo Heero would have been tempted to destriy it as Wufei had said.  
  
Instead he powered up Wing and tried to hide below the treeline for several seconds before assuming bird-mode and flying along the canopy of foliage.  
  
When he reached Deathscythe he shifted back and used more of Wing's arm strength to lift the ruined machine from where it had crashed and drag is sluggishly into the sky. From there, he commed Trowa. "I'm in position."  
  
"There was a crackle before Quatre's voice came back to him from the transmitter on Trowa's laptop. "You're running decoy?"  
  
"Of course I am, I'm already up here," Heero said irritably.  
  
Silence from Quatre's end. "All right, we're on our way. We're in the hanger now, actually."  
  
"You and who?" Heero wanted to know Duo's exact location.  
  
"Me and Duo. Trowa and Wufei are still outside waiting with the Gundams."  
  
"Good. Mission accepted." Wing shot up into the sky and began to open fire on the forest he had just come from. Almost instantly nearly 20 mobile suits flooded out of the base.  
  
Trying to maneuver Deathscythe between Wing's thick metal arms, Heero opted for 'distraction' as opposed to 'fight.' He shot higher into the air, daring the enemy suits to follow him, which they did. Within a few seconds a good-sized shuttle took off from the base and headed in the opposite direction from the mobile suits. Satisfied that Duo and the others had gotten away safely, Heero blasted into space and back to the colonies.  
  
  
  
  
-------------------------  
  
  
  
  
Heero made it back to the Winner residence before Quatre and the others had, and by the time they arrived the house was ready for them. The Maganac had been keeping a close guard on the colony, and luckily two Gundams appearing out of nowhere had done much for getting Heero to Quatre's safely. The Maganac has stored Wing and Deathscythe in one of their heavily-armed hangars and were working on repairing Deathscythe right away. Meanwhile, Heero worried about his friend's condition.  
  
When Quatre and Trowa finally led Duo into the houses, Heero jumped to his feet and almost gave the American pilot a hug before stopping himself.  
  
Duo gave him a weak smile, but Heero could tell it was faked. "Hi, Heero."  
  
//Masaka! And yet he knows my name...? Quatre and Trowa must have told him about us, about everything in his life...except for what they don't know.// Again Heero regretted not revealing his feeling for his friend earlier, but as always his conscience prevented him from saying more.  
  
/Forget it. What are you thinking?/  
  
//How can he remember what he never even knew...//  
  
Duo's pale face seemed to have returned to it's normal flushed color, but missing from that familiar face was the lopsided grin the Duo went almost nowhere without. Heero could barely stand to look at the man who had been his friend and comrade for so long, and his secret ai.   
  
Quatre, possibly worried and possibly depressed from the trip out with his ghost of a friend, urged Duo into the hallway. "You should get some rest, like Iria said."  
  
"I feel considerably better," Duo replied, "but I will take your advice and turn in for the night." Heero could see pain flash in Quatre's expressive eyes at Duo's near-monotone voice. The American turned and disappeared into the room Quatre had pointed out.  
  
When Wufei arrived at the house he found all its members in a solemn state. Quatre had finished cleaning Duo's clothes and was toying with his priest's collar and fussing over a broken stich here and there. Trowa sat stoically with his eyes closed, head bowed. Heero was staring blankly through the wall again. He had firmly decided that if Wufei rejected his decision to rescue Duo's broken Gundam, Heero would be forced to kill Chang then and there. He was certainly enough on edge to do so without a second thought.  
  
Luckily Wufei in all likelyhood didn't know about the ruined Deathscythe being repaired at that very moment. Without speaking a word he seated himself on the floor near the hallway.  
  
They stayed that way all night.  



	5. Trusting You Part 5

Gundam Wing and it's characters are copyright Sotsu, Sunrise, and some other people, don't own them and have never claimed to. Please don't sue me, you won't get much....   
  
  
"Trusting You,"  
Part 5  
by Shi-chan  
Nothing Is Forever  
  
The next morning Duo wandered out of his room fairly early in the morning dressed in one of Quatre's collared blue shirts and a pair of dark-green pants. In hopes of finding his way to the kitchen he felt his way along the wall in early morning semi-darkness, not wanting to wake up Quatre and the other pilots.   
  
At the end of the hallway he nearly tripped over Wufei, sitting cross-legged on the beige carpet. The Aisan's eyes were closed and he seemed quite asleep.   
  
When Duo's eyes adjusted to the light in the room he was surprised to find his former comrades dead asleep, still in their clothing in the living room. Quatre, the blond one, was clutching a peice of black fabric tightly in his hands and leaning against the unibanged pilot Trowa. Heero--that was his name, Duo was sure--seemed to be sleeping with his eyes open, his breathing was deep and heavy but his lifeless eyes focused on nothing.  
  
Duo crept past the three sleeping pilots to the kitchen, but Heero Yuy's harsh voice stopped him. "What are you doing up, Duo?"  
  
Duo stopped suddenly and observed the now-alert pilot. "I thought you were asleep."  
  
"I have been having difficulty sleeping."  
  
"Oh." Duo scrambled for something to say to this. "Um, would you like some breakfast?"  
  
"Quatre usually cooks." Heero said dully.   
  
"I know it's his house, but I'd like to be able to help you out as much as possible..." Duo looked hopeful and Heero vaguely noticed that at least Duo's indigo eyes were sparkling again...or that could be his imagination.  
  
"Quatre cooks because last time you did it you burnt the base down." Heero turned his hurt gaze away from Duo's confused stare so Duo wouldn't see the pain in his eyes. Duo had cooked for his friends many a time, and it usually ended up in disaster with some part of the kitchen destroyed. Yet no one ever stopped him when he decided he was going to "help the guys out."  
  
Duo, sensing Heero's hostility, turned his back. "I guess I'll just make something simple for myself."  
  
"You do that." Heero turned his again-blank stare downwards until Duo had left the room.  
  
  
  
-----------------------------  
  
  
  
Living with the new Duo seemed to be nothing but trouble and pain for all four of the Gundam pilots, and Heero had quickly realized that he didn't even know he was doing it. It was like Duo was dead and had been replaced by a bad duplicate that occasionally smiled and seemed totally oblivious to what he had been like before the accident.  
  
The very first incident was the clothes. Quatre had laid out his usual priest's collar and black outfit for Duo as soon as it had been cleaned, but Duo had refused to put it on. "I wore _that?_ You must be joking!" Even after Quatre explained the symbolism behind the choice of clothing to Duo, Duo continued dressing more like Trowa and Quatre than himself. Duo's refusal to accept this vitally-important peice of his past struck Heero to the core. Maybe they really weren't going to get the old Duo back. More than once after that Heero and Trowa had caught Quatre in his room staring dully at the black cloth, half-crying. Heero hadn't been caught yet, but occasionally he slipped Duo's old clothing out of the closet and held it, breathing in its essence, imagining a grinning Duo parading around in it with his gold cross around his neck. Once Heero had tried the black outfit on, collar and all, but quickly removed it so as not to become overwhelmed by memories of Duo. The pain was too much for him or anyone else to handle.  
  
  
The next big event was Quatre walking in on Duo holding a large pair of scissors, trying to debate whether or not to cut his hair. Luckily Quatre hadn't flown into the murderous rage that Heero would have, and discussed this in detail with Duo. Duo had complained that there was no point in hair hair of that length, that it made him look feminine and was a bother to keep clean. Quatre's main arguement was that he had always kept it clean before, and the new Duo's retort was that he was a new person, and he shouldn't be dwelling on the past. That stopped Quatre in his tracks, as his next persuasive line was that the chestnut braid was an important part of Duo's life and his past. Wufei and Quatre managed to convince Duo that if he ever got his memory back he would deeply regret cutting his hair, but after that Duo kept the long chestnut locks woven tightly to his scalp and tucked down the back of his shirt. When Heero found out about the incident he put a hole through his bedroom wall, but Quatre asked no questions about it and Heero volunteered no answers. It was silently spoken between them that this was the new Duo, and that they were going to have to accept him for what he was.  
  
The third was the clincher for Heero's already stretched-thin patience. After two months at the Winner house the Maganac had finally managed to repair Deathscythe into workable condition, and Heero couldn't have been happier. He was sure that this would trigger some of Duo's memories, and took the American pilot down to see the shining Gundam. Duo had seemed pleased that Heero had done such a thing for him, but when Heero asked if he wanted to test it out Duo declined, saying that he didn't know how and wasn't interested in going back to piloting. A disappointed and angry Heero took Deathscythe for a test ride himself, and finally broke down in the cockpit of his friend's most prized posession.   
  
It was the first time the perfect soldier had ever shed tears. He did it for the friend lost, the friendship forgotten, the replacement, and the boy he loved but had never been able to tell. He cried for the pain he saw in Quatre and Trowa and Wufei's eyes every day and the emotionless orbs of his own, with the sharp pangs of regret hidden deep below where neither Heero nor Duo could ever find them again. Heero Yuy had lost the most important person in his life, and he had let it happen.   
  
  



	6. Trusting You Part 6

Gundam Wing and it's characters are copyright Sotsu, Sunrise, and some other people, don't own them and have never claimed to. Please don't sue me, you won't get much....   
  
  
"Trusting You,"  
Part 6  
by Shi-chan  
http://nothinigsforever.cjb.net  
  
Life with Duo improved considerably when the other pilots stopped thinking of him as the Duo they once knew.   
  
Heero stayed far away from Duo--he wasn't interested in getting to know this doppelganger, and it was definitely worse that everytime Heero caught a sparkle in those familiar, caring violet eyes, he was reminded of the friend he had lost.  
  
/You don't need friends./  
  
For once Heero agreed with his perfect-soldier conscience. The other pilots, though still trying to interact with Duo, were forced to avoid Heero in hopes of salvaging their own sanity.  
  
Duo, on the other hand, was having different thoughts.  
  
  
  
  
  
------------------------------  
  
  
  
  
  
Duo was glad that life at the Winner's was finally settling down. He seemed to have re-learned everything that he needed and was feeling before than ever since the accident, but there was something he was missing. An important part of him that he had to remember, but couldn't.  
  
He thought perhaps it was Heero, the silent pilot who always left when Duo entered the room. Whenever Duo laid eyes on Heero the emptiness he felt inside widened, and suddenly he yearned that he had at least recovered _some_ of his old memories.  
  
Duo tried to approach Heero in any way possible, once this loss became apparant to him. Unfortunately the colbalt-eyed boy apparantly had better things to do or just couldn't stand Duo's company, and Duo had a hard time understanding that. Quatre had told him that before the accident he and Duo had been friends, good friends, even if Heero didn't express his emotions a lot. Quatre hinted at the idea that maybe they had been more than just 'friends,' but Duo didn't want to think about or accept that idea, despite the odd feelings he felt whenever he was around the perfect soldier.  
  
On one of the numerous times Duo had cornered Heero and followed him to the hangar, Duo tried appealing to Heero's former common interest--his Gundam.   
  
  
------------------------------  
  
  
Heero, fastening the restraints on Wing, looked incredulously at Duo. "You want me to teach you how to pilot?"  
  
"Hai desu!" Duo affirmed, putting on a big grin.  
  
Heero doubtfully let go of the straps and extended a hand to Duo to help him into the cockpit. "What brought this on?"  
  
Duo tried to decide whether to tell him the truth or a quick white lie, and finally settled on a half-truth. "This is something I'm going to need to know, and I don't spend much time with you." _You avoid me like the plague._  
  
The dubious Heero shifted over and let Duo sit in the pilot's seat before closing the cockpit. "You're sure?"  
  
"Of course!" Almost mechanically Duo did up his restraints and flipped several switches to start the mobile suit up. "What first?"  
  
Heero, cramped into the side of the pilot's chair, stared for a moment before shaking his head as if to clear it. "You've already got it started. Use the joystick to control it."  
  
"I do?" Duo looked confused for a moment before letting out a laugh and grabbing the joystick. "Instinct, I guess."  
  
Duo stared stoically at the moniter before him and used the awkward-feeling joystick to maneuver Wing out of the hangar. //It's too big.//  
  
/What?/  
  
//The joystick. it doesn't feel right.//  
  
/Wing./ Duo snapped himself out of his silent reverie before flying shakily towards a forest.   
  
"Make it go to bird-mode," Heero suggested.  
  
"How?" Duo asked.  
  
Heero pointed at another lever and Duo pulled it gently, causing the Gundam to shake slightly. The controls and the feeling were new to him, but he felt as though piloting this suit helped fill up a little of the emptiness within him.  
  
//Head back to base. Mission accomplished.//  
  
/Mission?/  
  
//...yes, I have started the inklings of a friendship with Heero Yuy.//  
  
/Are you sure you weren't doing something else altogether?/  
  
Duo sighed aloud and turned the Gundam around with the ease and skill of a longtime pilot.  
  
  
  
  
-----------------  
  
  
  
  
Heero wasn't sure if he was enjoying being in the confined cockpit with Duo or not. Before the accident he would have been more than happy to sit in Deathscythe or Wing with Duo, just the two of them, and fly all over the colonies. But that had never happened, and never would. Even if Duo had known how Heero felt about him, would Duo have felt the same? Deep in his heart Heero suspected so, but now was far too late for that.  
  
Still...being in close quarters with Duo never ceased to make him happy. He could smell the sweet shampoo in Duo's chestnut braid, feel the tingle every time their arms touched, know that his ai was so close that in a moment of insanity the perfect soldier could lean right over and give Duo Maxwell a peck on the cheek.  
  
So he did.  



	7. Trusting You Part 7

Gundam Wing and it's characters are copyright Sotsu, Sunrise, and some other people, don't own them and have never claimed to. Please don't sue me, you won't get much....   
  
  
"Trusting You,"  
Part 7  
by Shi-chan  
Nothing Is Forever  
  
Duo stared at Heero in shock for several seconds before Duo realized what he had done. When he did, he blushed and cast his eyes downward to avoid Heero's penetrating gaze.  
  
/Why did you do that? Why didn't you...hit him, or slap him, or yell? What kind of man are you?/  
  
//There's something there.//  
  
Deep inside Duo hated to admit the thrill that had run through him when Heero's lips had brushed his cheek. It was like something long forgotten, or a premonition of something to come...he turned his face upward to meet Heero's colbalt-blue eyes. "What brought that on?"  
  
Heero blinked in surprise, then blessed Duo with a half-smile. "I wanted to see what you would do."  
  
"What did you expect me to do?"  
  
Heero raised his eyesbrows. "Not that." Was that what you wanted me to do, Heero? Is this a test? If it is, I'm up to the challenge, if it means finding that lost peice of me that I'm sure must be you...  
  
  
  
  
------------------------  
  
  
  
  
Back at the Winner residence, Duo lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. //So now what?//  
  
/Next time he does that, I'm going to sock him./  
  
//You enjoyed it.//  
  
/Impossible./  
  
//He said you were friends. What if you really were more than 'just friends?'//  
  
/You should stay away from him. He's bad news./  
  
//Why, are you afraid that you might actually have feelings for him?//  
  
Duo sighed deeply and tried to ignore his own conscience. "This is not normal. You are _not_ supposed to have feelings like that for another man."  
  
//Even if he's your best friend?//  
//Even if he's more than a friend?//  
//Were you lovers before the accident?//  
Duo tried to take back the offending last thought, but to no avail. It would certainly explain the feeling inside him when he saw Heero, would explain why Heero had drifted away from him. //I don't remember him, and he's hurt.//  
  
//I guess I should spend more time with him, like I was planning,// Duo thought. //Maybe I can figure this out.// He decided that no matter what Heero Yuy did to him or made him feel, he was going to be his friend.  
  
  
  
No matter what it took.  
  
  
  
  
-------------------------  
  
  
  
  
Heero sat in Wing for a long time after Duo left, just thinking. Was is possible that Duo, or at least this new Duo, might have feelings for him as well? The American hadn't pulled away from the quick kiss, hadn't flinched, hadn't jumped, hadn't screamed. This went against all the new opinions he had formed of the ex-pilot.   
  
  
//I'll observe him for a while,// Heero finally decided. //Maybe we can at least be friends after all.// 


	8. Trusting You Part 8

Gundam Wing and it's characters are copyright Sotsu, Sunrise, and some other people, don't own them and have never claimed to. Please don't sue me, you won't get much....   
  
  
"Trusting You,"  
Part 8  
by Shi-chan  
http://nothingisforever.cjb.net  
  
Later that night Duo sat on the edge of his bed, brushing that long, annoying hair that Quatre refused to let him cut short and thinking of Heero Yuy. Again.  
  
Heero hadn't come back to the house since their trip in Wing. Duo wondered whether it was something he had done. //Maybe I should have pulled away from the kiss after all.//  
  
The door of the room opened with a barely audible click and Heero cautiously slipped in.  
  
"Heero!" Duo gasped, almost dropping the brush. "You could have knocked..."  
  
"Why?" Heero wondered aloud.  
  
The flustered Duo flung the mass of hair behind his back, noting embarassingly that he was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts. "I might have been getting undressed!"  
  
"And what would you have done then?" Heero asked softly.  
  
Duo was at a loss for words.   
  
"Would you have hit me? Screamed?" Heero closed the door behind him, leaving them in only the light of the stars in the window.  
  
Duo, slightly alarmed, stood up and looked Heero in his dark eyes.  
  
Heero advanced on the confused American. "What would you do if I did this?" He grabbed the younger boy by his shaking shoulders and enveloped him in a passionate kiss. Duo, still in shock, didn't scream, didn't pull away.  
  
/What are you doing? Are you going to let him do that?/  
  
//I thought he was going to--//  
  
/Hentai!/  
  
//NO!//  
  
/Why is he still kissing you then?/  
  
Heero let go of Duo and sat him back down on the bed. "Well?"  
  
Duo's head spun. //I enjoyed that.// "What?"  
  
"You're not going to scream for Quatre? Not going to hit me? Look, I'm not going to fight back." Heero spread his arms, palms upturned. "Go ahead."  
  
The American, violet eyes flashing, stared hard at Heero. "I'm not going to hit you."  
  
Heero gave him a full smile this time. "You never know what I might do next. Are you leaving yourself vulnerable?"  
  
"No," Duo said with a smirk, "I trust you."  
  
Those three words were plenty enough to silence Heero Yuy.  
  
  
  
----------------------  
  
  
  
Heero had finally left Duo alone with his thoughts. Unfortunately, Duo wasn't interested in having this conversation again.  
  
/Pervert./  
  
//Shut up.//  
  
/You let him kiss you./  
  
//He could have done worse.//  
  
/Would you have let him?/   
  
Duo gasped aloud and wondered if he would have. His feelings for Heero Yuy had changed greatly over the past twelve hours. But had they changed that much?  
  
//No,// he finally decided, //I wouldn't.//  
  
/Why don't I beleive you?/  
  
  
  
  
-----------------  
  
  
  
  
The next morning a uncharacteristically-cheerful Duo hopped out of bed, having been visited by sweet dreams all night. He couldn't remember what they were, and suspected that they were lost memories, but they left him feeling happy and more fulfilled than he had been in the months since the accident.  
  
Duo threw the covers across the bed and went to the closet, pulling on the first thing that came out--a pair of black dress pants and one of Quatre's white collared shirts. Then he brushed his hair and on a whim decided to leave it down for the day.  
  
He cast a glance at the mirror on his way out and tried on a grin--he'd almost forgotten how to express himself through his face, since he hadn't been feeling much emotion lately. Today was better. Today was different.  
  
//Is it because of what happened last night?//  
  
/Masaka. Couldn't be./  
  
Still, the thought of Heero again brought a smile to his face. He bounced his new hyper self out the hall and almost ran over Quatre. "Oi Quatre! Morning!"  
  
"Slept in, did you? You're never up this late...why did you leave your hair down?" Quatre couldn't help smiling at the maniacal grin on Duo's face.  
  
"Felt like it!" the American winked at Quatre. "Can I make breakfast?"  
  
Quatre was taken aback by Duo's odd demeanor. He was acting just like he used to! "Sure, go right ahead. Try not to blow up the kitchen this time."  
  
"Okay!" Duo bounded past the Arab and into the living room where Wufei sat meditating. "Hi Wu-man! Gotta go, I'm makin' breakfast for everybody!"  
  
"That's excellent, Maxwell. Now leave me alone."  
  
"Bye!" Duo grinned and ran into the kitchen.  
  
"Baka..." Wufel closed his eyes and started to relax, then started. "Did he just call me Wu-man?"  



	9. Trusting You Part 9

Gundam Wing and it's characters are copyright Sotsu, Sunrise, and some other people, don't own them and have never claimed to. Please don't sue me, you won't get much....   
  
  
"Trusting You,"  
Part 9  
by Shi-chan  
http://nothingisforever.cjb.net  
  
After an eventful breakfast involving Duo, lighter fluid, and Wufei losing his eyebrows, Duo finally managed to lose a little of his good cheer.  
  
"I don't see why Heero didn't come to breakfast," he argued. "I went to all the trouble of making his eggs sunny-side up!"  
  
Wufei touched a finger to the remains of his left eyebrow. "Maxwell, you're never going near that stove again."  
  
"Aw..." Duo suddenly looked as gloomy as he had been for the last few months. "Heero..."  
  
Wufei wondered if the American needed his head checked. Maybe it was the amnesia interfering with his brain patterns.  
  
Duo finished the last of his scrambled eggs and wandered out of the kitchen. //Maybe he's with Wing.//  
  
Cheered again, Duo ran down to the hanger to see his friend.  
  
  
  
-----------------  
  
  
  
Duo could find no trace of Heero or Wing, but he found something else that piqued his interest. //That Gundam....my Gundam...//  
  
Casting a glace around the empty hangar, Duo ran to the machine and hopped in. The cockpit felt much more familiar than Wing's had. //It feels like me.//  
  
Carefully he brought the Gundam out of the hangar and up into the sky.  
  
  
  
Duo piloted the mobile suit like a master, through pure instinct. Somehow he knew that between his piloting skills and the superb machine he would be fine. //Thanks, Shinigami.//  
  
/Shinigami?/  
  
//The God of Death. The mobile suit. Me.//  
  
/You mean....it_was_ you./  
  
  
------------------  
  
  
Duo didn't return from his excursion until late that night. He slipped his Deathscythe, his Shinigami, into its place in the hangar and hoped Heero might have thought its disappearance to be a Maganac or one of the other pilots.  
  
When he dragged his weary body into his room, already unbuttoning his shirt, he was slightly less-than-surprised to find Heero sitting on his bed. "Oi, Heero-man."  
  
Heero gave the American an odd look. "Quatre says you've been acting weird. You didn't tell anyone what happened last night, did you?"  
  
Duo shook his head. "Just between us."  
  
Heero nodded stiffly.  
  
Dropping his shirt on the floor Duo sauntered over and sat defiantly in Heero's lap. "I can be persuaded not to tell tomorrow either."  
  
Heero's jaw dropped. "Are you okay?"  
  
Duo narrowed his sparkling indigo eyes and grinned at Heero. "Close your mouth...wait, I'll take care of that..." Duo shifted his weight and kissed Heero firmly on the mouth as the other boy had done the night before. Heero enjoyed the feeling of being so close to Duo, but still had to wonder...  
  
"What brought this on?" he gasped between kisses.  
  
"You." Duo lifted Heero's shirt and began to trace patterns on the other boy's chest with his index finger.  
  
The confused Heero tried to take it all in...maybe he'd been right after all about Duo's feelings for him? Duo's slender fingers against his skin made shivers run down his spine. The beautiful mass of chestnut hair that Duo had left down that morning surrounded him like a brown waterfall and brushed against Heero's arms.  
  
"And what do you intend to do now?" Heero wondered aloud.  
  
"I'd be happy just being with you..." Duo yawned and continued rubbing Heero's chest. "Heero-chan..."  
  
Heero cracked a rare smile and enfolded Duo in his arms. "My Shinigami."  
  
//What the hell brought this on? He called me....Heero-chan! Does this mean...?!?//  
  
Duo yawned again and leaned against Heero. "You're warm...Heero...you don't mind, do you?"  
  
"Mind? Mind what?" Heero tucked a peice of brown hair behind Duo's ear.  
  
"Me." The American tipped his head so that the waterfall of hair spread itself out like a fan. "Heero..."  
  
"Of course not! I...I have to tell you that..." Heero suddenly couldn't find the words he wanted to say. "Duo...my little Shinigami...I've wanted all this for so long..."  
  
Duo made an "mmmm." sound and Heero had to wonder if the boy was listening to him. "Duo?"  
  
"G'way, Sister, I dun' need to get up yet....zzzzzz...."  
  
Heero shook his head in amusement. Typical Duo. He lay his friend on his back and covered him with a blanket, clothes and all. "Good night, my little Death. I don't think you know how happy even this has made me."  
  
Smiling fondly, Heero placed a soft kiss on Duo's forehead and slipped out the door, closing it behind him.  
  
The indigo eyes blinked in the starlight and Duo Maxwell sighed in happiness. "That makes two of us, Heero, my friend."  
  



	10. Trusting You Part 10

Gundam Wing and it's characters are copyright Sotsu, Sunrise, and some other people, don't own them and have never claimed to. Please don't sue me, you won't get much....   
  
  
"Trusting You,"  
Part 10  
by Shi-chan  
http://nothingisforever.cjb.net  
  
The next morning Duo awoke with a start, but this time the happiness came from something other than a dream. What had happened with Heero wasn't a dream. What had happened to Duo himself wasn't a dream.  
  
Duo found his singing voice fairly early in the morning process. He took a blue towel from the rack and hopped in the shower belting a song at the top of his lungs.   
  
"...go on well,  
The chance is right before you!  
Daijobu kitto OK!"  
  
He soaped his hair and reveled in the smell of the shampoo and the hot water and life all rolled together. "CHANSU WA ME NO MAE DAIJOBU KITTO OK! It's gotta be OK!"  
  
Wufei pounded on the door. "Maxwell! Shut UP!"  
  
Duo grinned to himself and shut up...for approximately five seconds. He continued to sing the song under his breath as he rinshed his hair, blowdried it, and carefully wound it into a loose braid that bounced when he walked.  
  
Duo danced out of the bathroom and back into his bedroom singing "KITTO OK OK OK!!!!!!!!" at the top of his lungs. Elsewhere in the house Wufei screamed, "INJUSTICE!" while Quatre giggled, and Duo laughed out loud again.  
  
He pulled his black pants and white shirt from the closet and added a black long-sleeved shirt on top. He affixed his minister's collar and whistled a tune as he walked down the hall, rolling up his sleeves to above the elbows.  
  
Once Duo got his clothing straightened he bounded through the house singing the whole time. "It's so all RIGHT, maybe too RIGHT, SONO UCHI KITTO COME TO LIGHT! Oh, it's so alllllllll riiiiiiiight....yoshi!" He bounced into the kitchen. "Hey minna-san! Oi, Q-man you're making breakfast?!? I wanted to cook today!"  
Wufei pointed wordlessly at his eyebrows.  
Duo looked slightly disappointed but perked up right away. "Whoa! Quatre-kun, are those scrambled?!?"  
"Ano, Duo-kun...hai!" Quatre beamed and moved over so Duo could watch the eggs cook.  
"Are you all right, Maxwell?" Wufei asked suspiciouly.  
"Of course!" Duo speared a peice of egg with a fork. "It's so all right, remember?"  
"What's all right?" Wufei didn't like the idea of Maxwell talking in riddles--or in song titles.  
"Everything!" Duo hugged Quatre cheerfully.  
Quatre looked down at the black and chestnut whirlwind. "Decided to put your hair up today?"  
"Aw, Sister Helen said I had to put it up every day. But I've never minded a bit!"  
"Sister Helen... Duo, you're wearing your Maxwell collar!" Heero gaped at his friend.  
Duo bounced over to Heero. "Thanks to you. You want me to close that for you?" The braided American grinned and kissed Heero on the lips before bouncing back to the eggs.  
"DISHONOR!" Wufei roared.  
Heero's eyes were as big as dinner plates.   
Trowa, who hadn't spoken since Duo entered the room, said mildly, "Got your memory back, Duo?"  
Quatre gasped in delight and threw his arms around his friend. "Really!?"  
Duo grinned his trademark grin under the folds of the Arab's shirt. "Really. I've never been better."  
"Thank Allah!" Quatre's face was a cross between joy and relief. "We've missed you!"  
"I missed me too!" cried Duo, running over to Heero. "But Heero-chan brought me back!"  
"Me?" asked a surprised Heero.  
"Heero-_chan?_" questioned Trowa.  
"Of course! I never knew you felt that way about me, but I felt the same way about you!" Duo planted another kiss on Heero's forehead. "Hope you don't mind the public display of affection!"  
A slightly-dizzy Wufei sat down hard in the wooden chair. "Dishonor..."  
Heero gazed into Duo's violet eyes. "And if I do mind?"  
Duo appeared to think this over for a minute. "Nah! I'd do it anyway!"  
/Well, are you happy now?/  
//Mission complete.//  
/....mission?/  
//It was a personal mission. Of course I'm happy! I have what I wanted most in the world...//  
/......../  
  
Heero clasped Duo's hands in his. "And that, Duo, is why you're you."  
  
His eyes sparkled. "'Cause I do things like this?" Duo enveloped Heero's protesting mouth in another passionate kiss. Wufei developed a nosebleed.  
  
When the American pilot pulled away from Heero, the Japanese boy grinned at his ai. "Because you do things just like that. Welcome back, Duo."  
  
  
  
~Owari! It seems okay for a first try....o.O;; 


End file.
